Mr Palmer off to Canada

Press, 8 March 1984, Page 9

Mr Palmer off to Canada

Parliamentary reporter

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition and member of Parliament for Christchurch Central, Mr G. W. R. Palmer, will leave tomorrow for a two-week visit to Canada. He has been invited to give the annual lecture in the Distinguished Scholars Programme on “Access to Justice” at the University of Windsor in Ontario. M^ 1 Palmer’s lecture is

entitled “The Growing Irrelevance of the Civil Courts.” . He will also give lectures at the University of Toronto, Osgoode Hall Law School attached to York University, and the University of Calgary. In Ottawa, Mr Palmer will study the recently adopted Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He will have discussions with various Government officials and politicians on

the subject. The Labour Party has recently announced a policy concerning a Bill of Rights for New Zealand. “The Canadian experience is directly relevant to our situation — they have a similar sort of legal system. It will be very useful to talk to the Canadians,” he said. In Ottawa he will also examine steps which have been taken to televise Parliament, and other A

issues of Parliamentary reform. “The Canadian Parliament is televised and I want to see how that works. We need to bring Parliament in New Zealand back to the centre of the stage,” Mr Palmer said. “Official information has also been a topic of interest in Canada and I want to have a close look at what they have been doing. This is another area in which we have to improve things in New Zealand.”